Opinion: Redeem yourself, Mr. Fabi: apologize

Sara Behar, Special to The Gazette11.28.2012

Sara Behar is a history major at McGill University with a strong interest in humanitarian activism.

Jewish groups have welcomed the suspension of Jacques Fabi, the overnight radio-show host on 98.5 FM who has been yanked off the airways for a month, for allowing a caller to go on an anti-Semitic rant during a call-in show last week.
/ File photo

Allow me to begin by sharing my fear that your one-month suspension, and the backlash you have faced, will only serve to solidify your opinion that, as you said on air last week, “white gloves” must be worn when discussing Montreal’s Jewish community.

The purpose of this letter is not to laud your suspension as the overnight host on 98.5FM, or pile onto the anger over you calling Jews “annoying” on Nov. 21 and failing to put a stop to an anti-Semitic caller named Maria’s rants, especially after she proclaimed the Holocaust to be “the most beautiful thing that could happen in history.”

Rather, I hope to explain to you why your comments and (non-) handling of Maria offended me not only as a Jew, but also as an activist for human rights.

Throughout your on-air conversation with Maria, you stressed the concept of freedom of speech in a democratic society and how you felt that Montreal’s Jewish community interfered with it. Yet, I wonder if you are able to distinguish freedom of speech from hate speech — and recognize that hate speech about any group of people, not just Jews, is not, and should not be tolerated.

Mr. Fabi, you may argue that you and your caller were simply exercising your rights to voice your opinions, but what you were really partaking in was hate speech.

You also expressed a great deal of ignorance concerning this city’s Jewish population that I would like to address.

First, Jews and Israelis are not synonymous. The majority of the world’s Jews neither live in, nor originate from, Israel. In addition to this, Jews do not have a uniform opinion on the state of Israel. There are even Jews who dispute the country’s existence altogether.

Secondly, to discuss Montreal’s Jewish community as a general whole is a mistake. Apart from sharing the same religious label, there are multiple types of Jewish communities, which could not be more different from one another. The Jews of this city are scattered across all spectra of socio-economic status, modes of worship, mother tongue and conduct. Feel free to take a walk around the city and see for yourself the various kinds of independent Jews and Jewish communities this city has, as well as the various types of contributions that they have made to Montreal: from small family-owned shops like Fairmount Bagel to multi-billion dollar corporations like Astral Media, to a major hospital like the Jewish General.

Mr. Fabi, even if you had not said anything offensive in nature yourself during that broadcast, the very fact that your issue with Maria’s comments was the possible backlash she could receive, and not the hateful nature behind her comments, is a problem.

Do you honestly not see anything wrong with equating an entire group of people to dogs?

Do you not see how such a comparison is an affront to their fundamental rights to dignity and respect?

Do you not see how celebrating the hateful slaughter of millions of people is an affront to their memory and those left behind to carry the burden of that memory?

With this in mind, is it really so surprising that people would find such commentary offensive and respond to it?

Tolerating the intolerant and hateful speech of Maria does not make you a great defender of rights. It only makes listeners inclined to believe that you share her views.

I fear that your suspension, in addition to solidifying your belief about Montreal’s Jews, will not actually address the fundamental issue of bigotry you expressed toward people like me.

There are some who believe the solution is for you to be fired altogether. However, Mr. Fabi, it is not your job I am after, but your tolerance. If this message has reached you in any way at all and you would like the opportunity to redeem yourself as a denouncer of hate speech and an actually tolerant person, please issue a statement apologizing for what you have said and condemning the celebration of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and discrimination in general.

Sincerely,

Sara

This is a slightly edited version of a letter that Sara Behar sent in French to Jacques Fabi via 98.5FM’s website. So far, she has received no reply.

Sara Behar of Westmount is a history major at McGill University with a strong interest in humanitarian activism

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